Vague security council resolution hands ‘gift’ to Hamas, leaving Israel hanging - analysis

The US-Israeli relationship remains on a collision course due to a public disagreement over Israel’s war on Hamas.

Following the US’s decision not to veto a UN Security Council resolution that called for an immediate cease-fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized his country’s most significant and strategic ally. This is likely to amplify the significant pressure on Israel to cease its military operations in the Gaza Strip.

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Responding to the nonbinding resolution’s adoption, Netanyahu stated the US “is harming the war effort and efforts to release the hostages.” Resolution 2728 demands an immediate cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the immediate, unconditional release of all the hostages held by Hamas since its surprise offensive on Israel on October 7 last year.

The Israeli premier argued that the US’s support for a cease-fire without the prior unconditional release of the 134 hostages held by the Gaza-based group “gives Hamas hope that the international pressure will allow them to achieve a cease-fire without the release of our hostages.”

Netanyahu also canceled the departure of an Israeli delegation to Washington, which was set to discuss military plans for operations against Hamas in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza.

Hamas welcomed the UN resolution.

“This is a gift to Hamas, which can only embolden it and other Islamists,” Elan Journo, a senior fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute and author of What Justice Demands: America and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, told The Media Line.

Ongoing hostage negotiations

Recent weeks have seen ongoing negotiations for the release of the hostages and the establishment of a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Qatar, Egypt, and the US are mediating the talks. Hamas has refused to budge on its demands for a complete halt to Israel’s war effort, effectively stalling the negotiations. Its official response came hours after the UN resolution was adopted.

Hamas’ stance clearly demonstrates its utter disinterest in a negotiated deal and attests to the damage done by the UN Security Council’s resolution,” read a statement by Netanyahu released on Tuesday. “Hamas rebuffed all US offers for a compromise while celebrating the Security Council’s resolution.”

US President Joe Biden expressed his support for Israel at the war’s onset. During a visit to Tel Aviv, with Israel still shocked by Hamas’ attack, the American leader pledged continued arms supplies to Israel as it began its war against the terrorist organization. The US also deployed aircraft carriers to the region to deter Israel’s other adversaries from entering the conflict. The US president repeatedly reiterated the longstanding relationship between the two countries.

From the beginning, the US wanted to discuss Israel’s long-term war strategy, which Netanyahu refused. President Biden’s impatience with the Israeli government grew as the war dragged on and Palestinian casualties increased. While continuing to arm Israel, the US has escalated its rhetoric against Netanyahu and his policies.

“Beneath the decades of US rhetoric about an unbreakable bond, there’s always been an unwillingness to give principled moral support for Israel’s right to self-defense. This rift is the culmination, so far, of a long-running pattern. It’s a case of “here is US military hardware—but don’t dare use it! Back down! Show restraint!” said Journo.

According to Israeli parliamentarian Moshe Roth, representing the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, the American president’s approach comes as no surprise.

“Whoever listened carefully to Biden’s State of the Union speech heard direct quotes from Hamas propaganda,” Roth told The Media Line. “The Biden Administration is a continuation of the [former US President Barack] Obama one in addition to his internal political considerations. Israel’s needs come second.”

The relationship has had its crises throughout the years, but many see this as the most serious break.

“There has never been such a dramatic crisis,” Zehava Galon, a former member of Knesset, Israel’s parliament, from the left-wing Meretz party, told The Media Line. “Instead of being grateful for American support, Netanyahu has brought the relationship to an unprecedented low point and the latest US decision reflects that.”

This isn’t the first instance of the US remaining passive as the UN adopted a resolution unfavorable to Israel. In 2016, a tumultuous relationship between Netanyahu and Obama prompted the US to refrain from vetoing a UN Security Council resolution that declared Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.

Leading up to the UN showdown, Israel and the US were at odds over Israel’s intentions in Rafah. According to the UN, most of Gaza’s 1.7 million displaced people have huddled in Rafah, the only place where the Israeli army has yet to operate in full force. Warnings from the US and other countries were intended to deter Israel from entering the city. Netanyahu vowed to act there, as Israel believes it’s where Hamas’ senior leadership is hiding, perhaps shielded by many, if not all, of the Israeli hostages. The city also hosts an extensive underground tunnel network believed to extend into neighboring Egypt. The tunnels are Hamas’ main lifeline and weapons supply, making the target critical as Israel aims to diminish the group’s military capabilities.

Besides the disagreement on Rafah, criticism of Israel’s handling of humanitarian aid, and refusal to discuss Gaza’s future, the US expected a quicker military campaign. Six months later, Israel’s conflict with Hamas is far from over.

“The US requested only these three things from the Israelis since day one,” Marc Schulman, an American Israeli who publishes a daily Tel Aviv Diary, told The Media Line. “The Americans have a right to be annoyed and they are extremely disappointed.”

“Biden was very clear from the start, he supported Israel in its just war and wanted to understand Israel’s goals in the day after the war,” Galon said. “The war has become the goal itself and Netanyahu and his government ignored US requests. Netanyahu should not have gone this far.”

According to Roth, who is a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Israel will have no choice but to operate in Rafah, even without American support.

“Israel has no other option; the stakes are too high,” he said. “If not, Israel will go back to being in a constant defensive position, which is what led it to the situation it is in today and allowed the Hamas to strengthen significantly.”

In criticizing the Biden Administration, Roth said Washington believes Israel is no longer under an existential threat and can stop its war on Hamas.

“Israel is nowhere near satisfied with this and it also won’t rehabilitate its deterrence this way,” he added. “It’s not that the Americans don’t understand Israel, they simply don’t agree. They know Hamas cannot be defeated without attacking Rafah.”

Earlier this month, US Vice President Kamala Harris said it is important to “distinguish, or at least not conflate, the Israeli government with the Israeli people,” in another testament to the frustration the White House feels with the Netanyahu government.

Journo describes the current American policy as “unjust.”

“In pressuring Israel to show ‘restraint’ in its war of self-defense … (it is) sacrificing the necessary, overdue objective of victory over the Islamic totalitarians of Hamas. Biden surely fears losing votes in November because many see him as overly pro-Israel, but the truth is that the US has not been supportive enough—much to our detriment,” Journo said.

Both the US president and the Israeli prime minister must consider political factors that are pivotal to understanding the current dynamics of the relationship.

“This is a mostly a political storm in Israel created by Netanyahu in order to show that he is strong and can fight the Americans,” Schulman said. “There is no question this is going to hurt Israel, as it is not good to be on bad terms with the Americans.”

Before the war, Netanyahu’s government faced political struggles as it attempted to push through controversial judicial reforms, plunging the country into a deep internal crisis. Hamas’ surprise onslaught further complicated matters for the government, with many attributing Israel’s unpreparedness directly to Netanyahu. Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, played a key role in shaping Israel’s Gaza policy, which strengthened Hamas. Since October 7, his popularity has plummeted in polls where he was already unfavorably viewed.

“Israel is risking its relationship with the US, one which it cannot do without. This is a slippery slope,” said Galon who added recent announcements by Canada, the Netherlands, and other countries that they would stop selling arms to Israel. “This will not be a wake-up call for Netanyahu; we will likely see this escalate further. It is now the role of the public to get rid of this government.”

Recent weeks have seen demonstrations calling for elections, which Netanyahu and others dismissed, arguing that wartime is not suitable for campaigning. Government opponents claim Netanyahu is prolonging the war to delay an election that could potentially remove him from power.

The stakes are undeniably high. Both leaders are navigating political uncertainty, and a majority in Israel views the war as existential, further straining the historically close relationship.